Under the Stars
by nhsweetcherry
Summary: John and Gordon discover that they have a shared interest. A short one-shot.


_Okay, ScribeofRED, here's your John-and-Gordon-bonding-under-the-stars story!_

 _I don't own the Thunderbirds, and I am making no profit from this story._

John followed wearily in Gordon's footsteps as they walked across a wide, empty field under a vast expanse of brilliant stars. He might've liked to stop and do some stargazing, but after a long day of hiking, he was eager to get back to the campsite and put his feet up. Plus, he knew that stargazing wasn't really Gordon's thing, and this trip had been his brother's idea.

He glanced around, and was glad that Gordon seemed to know where he was going, as there were absolutely no visible landmarks – just miles and miles of gently rolling hills full of tall, waving grass, gently illuminated by the starlight.

It took him a long time to notice that Gordon was glancing up at the sky every once in a while, and that often they would change course slightly after he did so. And finally, it occurred to him that although he had assumed that Gordon was using a compass, he had never once seen his brother actually looking down at one.

He stopped short, astonished, as he suddenly realized exactly what Gordon was doing. "Are you – are you _navigating_ by the _stars_?" he demanded.

Gordon turned to face him, looking surprised. "Well, sure. How else are we gonna get back to the camp? I forgot my compass."

John stared at him. "But where did you learn to do that? I know I didn't teach you – you were never interested!"

"It's a standard part of the WASP curriculum," Gordon said with a shrug. He glanced up to orient himself and began walking again.

John hurried ahead so he could walk alongside Gordon. "And you never told me?"

Gordon shrugged again. "I guess it never occurred to me. Besides, it's not a big deal. It's nothing compared to what you and Alan know about the stars."

John put a hand on Gordon's arm to stop him. "It's a big deal to me, Gords," he said softly. "I think it's really neat."

They walked in silence for a while before Gordon spoke up again. He sounded almost hesitant as he said, "Hey, there are a few constellations I have trouble identifying. You got any tricks for remembering them?"

John couldn't stop a huge smile from spreading across his face. "Just get me back to the campsite, and I'll be glad to share whatever you need."

Gordon cast John a sidelong glance. "You do know, I hope, that my eyes are still going to glaze over if you start going on about nebulas and supernovas and all that kind of stuff?"

John laughed. "That's nebulae and supernovae, and don't worry – I'll try not to drown you in jargon." He gasped as he suddenly tripped over a rock.

Gordon caught his arm to keep him from falling. "Ah, here we are. I thought we were getting close."

John looked around and realized that they had reached the campsite; their tent was a dark shape nearby, and what he had stumbled on was part of their fire pit. "Well, all right, then. You start the fire, and I'll get the food down from the tree?" They had strung their food up to keep the bears from getting it.

"Sounds like a plan!"

An hour later, after they had cooked a meal, eaten and cleaned up, they let the fire die down to coals so that they could see the stars. Gordon pointed out the constellations he knew, and John helped him come up with ways to remember the ones he struggled with – although Gordon's knowledge of the stars had proven to be far more extensive than John had expected.

As the night wore on, they spoke less and simply lay on the grass, enjoying the majesty of the stars. After a while, Gordon's breathing evened out, and John tiptoed to the tent to get blankets. He covered Gordon and lay down near him, but found that he couldn't sleep yet.

His feelings were strong but hard to pinpoint. On the one hand, he knew that Gordon would never be an astronomer – his use for the stars was purely practical and quite limited. On the other hand, the fact that they had enough of a shared interest that he and Gordon could spend an evening just looking at the stars and talking a little bit about them…he knew that he would cherish this memory for the rest of his life.

When he finally drifted off to sleep under the blanket of stars, he had a smile on his face.


End file.
